This website is dedicated to providing public information regarding DePuy Hip recall and other related information to the recall. None of the information on this site is intended to be formal legal or medical advice, nor should any information on this site be construed as advice that should be used in lieu of information from your attorney or physician.

Sunday, May 8, 2011

Up date on my Depuy hip consult conclusions: Decision to Revise

I embarked on a 6 month journey in an investigative mode to determine whether I had a hip implant gone awry.The more I learned and read, the more concerned I became even though I had no consistent pain and am, for the most part, asymptomatic of any pain…pain free.I pored over every science paper I could get my hands from Pub Med while simultaneously combing the blogs, newsfeeds, and twitter to try and get some direction as to where to start. The social media is completely monopolized by plaintiff lawyers trying to capture the next patient.For the most part, Depuy has released minimal information and has been completely absent in the social media.Unfortunately, the Capitan of the Depuy ship is the legal team and it should be the business and medical teams.Most medical professionals have minimal insight into the treatment options since little long term historical data has beencollected in the US on the performance of these hips.

My first mission was to identify the BEST consults in the country who understood and studied the ion issues with MoM implants and the implications thereof.I quickly learned that this is a multidisciplinary problem and there is no one person, who understands every aspect of this issue.The range of fields this issue touches:orthopedic surgery, toxicology, immunology, radiology, chemistry, epigenetics, endocrinologyand in my case nephrology andothers.

So, how do I know that my decision to revise is the right decision in absent the presence of pain?There are two observations made by my medical team (coupled with the testing I have had and the consult recommendations) whichresulted in my conclusion to revise:

·The current “silent pathology” (documented bone and tissue damage) will likely progress if I don’t remove this device. (I will continue to get annual MRI follow ups and document these results anually.)

·The exceedingly high levels of chromium and cobalt should decrease significantly 30-45 days following the surgery. (I will publish the results of this test post surgery once I have them.)

I see my ortho surgeon at the end of this month to discuss the consults findings.